The Game You See

There’s the game you see, and the game we’re playing. There’s the game you understand, and the one you haven’t yet begun to comprehend. There’s the game you want to play, and the game you’re facing.

The Game You See

You might see my tweets, or my blog post. You don’t see the work I do for clients (at least not directly). You don’t see my philanthropic interests (unless I want you to play along, too). You don’t see when I have a bad day (unless you’re a Facebook friend, and I’m sorry for that, because I use FB to whine sometimes).

You also see the success without thinking about the sacrifice. You also see the stumbles without thinking about what they teach me. There’s the game you see, just like I see only part of your game.

The Game You Understand

Once you master one game, you sense the next one (if you’re lucky). In 2006, I couldn’t have found a business model if it were a rattlesnake painted orange. Now, I am forced to keep a little notebook in my pocket to write down future business projects so that I can finish the ones I’m already doing. Once I figured out one game, I could move to another level.

It’s the same with all of us. Lots of times, you might not yet sense the dimensions of that new game. Sometimes, others around you might know that you don’t yet sense it. Depending on your relationship to them, they may or may not be helpful (and nudge you towards that new game) or they may be hurtful, and snatch that new game away from you before you’ve noticed it missing.

The Game You Want to Play

Growing up, I wanted to write fiction. I also wanted to write comics. Instead, I write articles for magazines and blogs, and I write books. There’s the game I wanted to play, and the one in front of me. If I spent more time worrying and feeling bad about the game I wanted to play, I’d have missed the opportunity to master the game in front of me.

Sometimes, we get these reversed. We think we want to play another game, and we think we have the wrong game in front of us. But lots of times, that’s just an error in perception, or in our growth. A lot of times, the game in front of us is the better game. We just haven’t learned how to play it well. Yet.

Some People Think Games Aren’t Serious

That’s quite alright. While you’re being serious, I’m playing games. Did you read Trust Agents? I’m making my own game.